The Biggest Question
by Merenwen Calmcacil
Summary: Will Darcy knew that the biggest question he would ever ask wasn't asking Lizzie to marry him, it was asking her father for permission...


Disclaimer: No, I do not own Pride and Prejudice. Well, here's my return after a rather long absence from writing fan faction. So I guess here goes nothing! Oh, btw, to all my Pride vs. Prejudice readers, I am still working on that story, a little at a time. I am still planning on updating it. I promise I'll have something for you soon.

Will Darcy had never been so nervous in all of his life. The butterflies in his stomach felt more like bumble bees and his palms were sweatier than they had been the night he'd asked Lizzie out for the second time, the time she'd said yes. It was time that he did this. He'd had the ring for almost a week. He knew exactly how he was going to propose. But there was one little obstacle standing in his way:

He had to ask her father first.

He had always been very traditional in his views. Asking for a girl's father's permission was just something you did before asking her to marry you. It was the proper thing to do and he had always been very insistent about being proper. But Jeff Bennett wasn't just any man and Lizzie wasn't just any girl. Jeff Bennett was a cop with a lot of cop friends and Lizzie was the apple of his eye.

Will had always considered himself to be a confident man. He could stare down someone in a business meeting with no fear. He could stand toe to toe with experienced businessmen twice his age. But when it came to his girlfriend's father, he had never been more terrified of someone in his life. Besides, this was the biggest question he would ever ask. He knew Lizzie would say yes, or at least he was pretty sure that she would. It was her father he was worried about.

The thought of Officer Bennett sitting there loading his handgun as he stuttered out his request made Will's stomach turn. That was what Officer Bennett had been doing every time Will had picked Lizzie up for a date on the off weekends she was back in her hometown. There was no sitting in the car and honking the horn to let Lizzie know you were outside. You had to turn the car off and walk to the front door, knock politely, and then sit there on the sofa with Officer Bennett sitting in his recliner with the gun in his hands. When Will had gone to pick her up for their first official date, he had been sitting there loading the handgun with shiny silvery bullets. The sight had almost been enough to make Will lean over and throw up all over the floor. Even though they both lived in Tampa, Lizzie had gone home to her hometown not twenty miles away and Will was supposed to pick her up there.

"_Lizzie will be down in just a minute dear," Mrs. Bennett said as she kindly patted him on the shoulder before leaving him alone with the intimidating man sitting across the room from him. _

"_So, Mr. Bennett…"_

"_That's Officer Bennett to you, son," the gruff older man had replied as he slipped a shiny bullet into its proper place. _

"_Officer Bennett," Will amended, kicking himself for having forgotten the man's preferred title. "Lizzie tells me that you're a police officer…" _

"_Thirty years on the force," Jeff Bennett replied proudly as he picked up another bullet from the box resting on the arm of his chair. _

"_Wow," Will gulped and tugged at the collar of his shirt. "That's longer than I've been alive…"_

"_Are you calling me old, boy?"_

The memory of that encounter alone was almost enough to make Will back his car out of the drive way. But he was going to be a man about this. He loved Lizzie. They had been dating for almost four months and had known each other for a year. It was time for them to take this next step. Will wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and he knew that he had to obtain her father's permission first.

Not for the first time Will wished that he had stopped at his condo and changed his clothes before making his way out to the Bennett family home. Her father had made fun of him for showing up to a barbeque in a suit once when he'd come straight from work. He wondered of the whole ordeal would be easier if he were dressed in jeans and a t-shirt rather than his custom fit Armani suit. Officer Bennett certainly had no appreciation for designer labels.

"_Are you really going to wear __**that**__?" Lizzie asked his skeptically. _

"_What's wrong it?" Will asked with a frown. He'd really tried to dress down for his first outing with the Bennett family. They were taking the family boat out on the lake for the day and he'd tried his best to look completely casual. _

"_Nothing… if you're going sailing on a yacht," Lizzie sighed as she walked over to his closet and started rummaging through his clothes. "Daddy will make fun of you all day if you show up wearing that with all those labels everywhere. And you don't have anything here that's any better!"_

"_What do you mean?" Will frowned deeper. "I have plenty of clothes. There's got to be something here." _

"_Trust me, there's not," Lizzie sighed again as she made her way over to his dresser. She finally laid her hand on a pair of swim trunks and threw them at him. "Everything here just screams designer! You have got to stop letting your secretary do all of your shopping for you. Here, go put these on and we'll stop at Wal-Mart and get you a t-shirt. Daddy'll probably think better of you if you're wearing a Gator t-shirt anyway." _

"_I'm not even a fan…"_

"_Don't tell him that!" _

That first day had not been the success he had hoped it would. Not only had he had to endure a two hour conversation about Tim Tebow and the Gators' chances of winning back to back national championships where all he could do was nod and smile. But also, the t-shirt had been extremely itchy because it hadn't been washed before he wore it and Officer Bennett went home that day sure that he had some sort of skin problem. Those had definitely not been his finest couple of hours.

But he loved Lizzie and since then he'd endured two more outings on the boat and three barbeques as well as one Fourth of July extravaganza with her family. Extravaganza was the only word befitting the event where there had been more food than Will had ever seen in his life and a fireworks display that was most likely illegal to put on in Lizzie's small Florida hometown. But that hadn't been a problem with Officer Bennett being… well… Officer Bennett.

Will sighed heavily and then unbuckled his seatbelt. He'd been sitting in the driveway for the last fifteen minutes and it was time that he made his way inside. Officer Bennett's patrol car was in the driveway, so Will knew he was there. None the family's other cars were there. He wasn't sure if that was comforting or if it made things all the worse. But, the sooner he asked his question the sooner he and Lizzie could start their lives together and that was something he couldn't wait to do. He opened his car door and stepped out into the late August sun shine. He could do this. Officer Bennett would want Lizzie to be happy. Will made her happy; therefore he would let him ask her to marry him. It was that simple.

As the man who had been the center of Will's thoughts opened the front door, still in his police uniform, it suddenly didn't seem so simple as he had just been imagining it. "What are you doing here?" Jeff Bennett asked bluntly. "Lizzie's not here. We're not expecting her till this weekend."

"I-I-I dddidn't come to see Lizzie, s-s-sir," Will stuttered. "I came to see you…"

"What the hell did you come to see me for?"

"I need to ask you something," he replied as he pulled at the open collar of his formerly crisp white shirt. The heat and humidity of the Florida afternoon caused the shirt to hang limply against his skin.

"Well, ask away," Jeff instructed as he leaned against the doorframe.

"I think this might be something that's better to do inside…"

"Then I suppose I have to let you in," Jeff sighed and ushered the younger man into the living room. Who knew the sky blue walls could look so intimidating. "So, what do you want to ask me about?"

"Well, sir," Will began as he took a seat on the same couch he'd sat on that first night he'd taken Lizzie out. The memory of that night and the kiss she'd given him at the end of it boosted his confidence. "Your daughter and I have been seeing each other for a few months now…"

"You're going to have to clarify which daughter, kid," the older man laughed wryly. "I've only got five of them."

"You're daughter, Lizzie, and I have been seeing each other for a few months now," Will amended, knowing that the older man was only giving him a hard time. He was probably all too aware of which daughter Will was dating. "And I would like it if you would give… Sir, could you put your gun down."

Jeff Bennett paused in his inspection of his firearm and looked skeptically across the room at the young man who was staring at him so intently. "You are aware, son, that I'm a cop, right?"

"Of course, sir," Will replied as he ran his fingers through his thick brown hair.

"Then you should know that, because I am a cop, I have to keep my firearm in perfect condition," Jeff said as he continued his examination. "And that means frequently inspecting it."

"I understand that, sir," Will responded and tugged at his collar again. "But I would feel a lot more comfortable if it wasn't in your hand when I ask you this question."

"Fine," Jeff sighed with more exasperation than he really felt and set his gun down on the small table next to his chair. "Now, get on with it, boy. I don't have all day."

"Well, the thing is sir," Will began again. "I love your daughter, Lizzie, very much…"

"I sure would hope so since that's the one you're dating."

"And I would like your permission to askhertomarryme," the last words came out so rushed together they sounding like one and Will grimaced as he ducked his head and stared down at his clenched hands. After about a minute of complete silence Will dared to peak up at him and was shocked by what he saw. Jeff Bennett didn't look angry, he just looked kind of sad. That brought another memory to Will's mind, the memory of the first time Lizzie'd brought him home with her for the weekend.

"_Turn left at the next street," Lizzie instructed as she bounced up and down excitedly in her seat, causing Will to glance over at his girlfriend and smile at the charming picture she made. She was wearing a pale yellow spaghetti strap baby doll top with eyelet lace at the hem and a white t-shirt underneath and a pair of jeans with a hole in the right knee. Her curly brown hair was pulled back in a pony tail and she also had a yellow headband on to keep any stray wisps away from her face. _

"_You know, you being in constant motion isn't going to make the car go any faster," Will joked as he reached out a hand to squeeze her knee affectionately. _

"_I know," she laughed as she took his hand and laced their fingers together. "I just can't wait to be home for a few days. I love living in Tampa, but coming home is always the greatest thing ever." _

"_I thought I was the greatest thing ever," he replied with mock hurt, but couldn't contain the smile that turned up the corners of his lips when she brought his hand up to hers and softly kissed the back of it. _

"_You're…" she began after a pause. "Oh, I don't know how to explain it!" _

"_I know what you mean," Will assured her and squeezed her hand. He made the instructed left and then pulled into Lizzie's driveway. Even though he had never been there before, Lizzie had shown him tons of pictures of the sunny yellow house with the overflow of tropical plants in the front yard._

_Before the car was even in park Lizzie was out the door and flying up towards the front porch. Almost as soon as her car door had slammed shut the front door had opened and a man who was also very familiar from all of Lizzie's pictures was standing there waiting for her with open arms._

"_Daddy!" she nearly screamed as she flew into those arms and was tightly embraced by them _

_It was easy to tell which parent Lizzie took after and seeing her there in the arms of her father solidified that for Will. They both had the same mop of curly brown hair, although Jeff Bennett's hair was starting to contain more grey than brown. Lizzie had his almond shaped hazel eyes and narrow chin. They had the same tan from spending hours on the family boat, both in the ocean and on a nearby lake. They even had the same light dusting of freckles across the bridge of their noses and cheeks. But what took Will aback, what left him frozen in his seat, was the look of complete and utter adoration that shown out of Jeff Bennett's eyes when he looked down at his daughter._

"_Will!" Lizzie called to him and held out a hand for him to come take. The image would forever be engraved in his mind. He would forever be able to see Jeff Bennett looking down so adoringly at his second oldest daughter, not even hearing her reintroduce her boyfriend as he held out his hand for Will to shake. Will would forever be able to see the three of them standing there, Lizzie in between the two men who loved her most in the world, absolutely glowing with happiness._

"If you ever break her heart," Jeff said finally with a heavy sigh as he slumped forward to rest his forearms on his knees. "I will kill you."

"I believe that, sir, and I don't intend to," Will tried to assure him. "I love Lizzie more than I ever thought it was possible to love anyone."

"So do I, son," he sighed again. "So do I."

"Would you like to see the ring?"

"No," Jeff replied. "I'll wait till Lizzie shows it to me. I don't want to steal any of her pleasure of doing that 'diamond drop' thing she and Jane are always raving about. That's all I've heard about from the two of them since Charlie asked Jane to marry him last month."

"Okay, well, I guess I better be going then," Will heaved a sigh of relief as he rose to his feet. Jeff did the same and followed the younger man to the front door.

Giving someone permission to take his baby girl away was the hardest thing Jeff Bennett had ever had to do. But he had a memory of his own to consider. He'd never forget the phone conversation he'd had with Lizzie a little less than a week prior to Will's request. She'd called him after their last date and what she'd said would forever echo in his ears.

"_Hey there, Bumble Bee," he greeted as he answered the phone after looking at the caller ID on his cell phone to see that it was Lizzie. Bumble Bee had always been his special name for her and he knew it was something important if she had called his cell phone rather than the house phone._

"_Lizzie?" he asked worriedly and frowned deeply as he heard his daughter gasp for breath as though she were crying. "Baby, is everything alright?" _

"_It's happened, Daddy," she sobbed into the phone. "I didn't think it ever would. Please don't be mad at me, but it has and I can't go back now!" _

"_What's happened, baby?" he asked with his concern growing with every second. He started looking around for his car keys. If that boyfriend of hers had done something to hurt his baby girl, there was going to be bloodshed. _

"_You told me one day it would," Lizzie tried to begin again, but once again broke down sobbing. "Please," she managed to choke out. "Please promise you won't be mad at me!" _

"_Elizabeth, you have to tell me what's wrong," he replied sternly. "Daddy can't make it any better until he knows what's happened."_

"_This isn't something you can fix," she responded and he heard shuffling on the other side of the phone like she was wiping her eyes with a tissue. "I love him, Daddy. I think I love him more than I love you! You always said that would happen and I didn't think it would! But now it has and I don't know what to do!" _

_Jeff Bennett felt as though he'd just had a bullet lodge its way into his bullet proof vest. There was no real wound, but it sure did hurt like hell. "I did always tell you that, didn't I…" he said softly as he sank down into his recliner. "Oh Bumble Bee…"_

"_Please don't be mad at me…" _

"_I could never be mad at you over this, baby," he assured her as he rubbed a brown calloused down his face. "Is he really worth it?" _

"_Yeah," he could hear her smile through the phone. "He really is. I really love him." _

"_I wouldn't lose you to anyone if you didn't," he sighed heavily and then ran his fingers through his hair. "So, should I be expecting him to come here sometime soon and ask for my permission to ask you to marry him?"_

"_Well," Lizzie began hesitantly. "I hope so…"_

_Jeff pressed his lips together in a thin line. This was it. This was really it. His little Bumble Bee had found a man she loved more than him and he was going to have to lose his place as the number one man in her life. _

He stood there and watched as his Bumble Bee's soon to be fiancée made his way out to his car. "Take good care of her," he called out to the younger man.

Will paused with a hand on the door handle of his car and turned to look at Jeff. "I will," he said. "I promise."

"I wouldn't give her up to anyone else," with that, Jeff walked back into the house and listened as Will's car door shut and he drove away. A single tear made its way down his cheek and he gruffly brushed it away. Then he went back to his recliner and back to cleaning his gun. He still had three others daughters with boyfriends who he needed to be ready for.


End file.
